Next space shuttle readied for August launch

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida - Nasa moved space shuttle Atlantis from its hangar today to the massive Kennedy Space Centre assembly building where it will be attached to a fuel tank and twin booster rockets in preparation for launch next month.

Liftoff of Atlantis and six astronauts is targeted for August 27 or 28. The flight marks Nasa's return to assembly of the International Space Station following the 2003 Columbia accident.

Sister ship Discovery returned last week from a successful mission to demonstrate the fleet's remodelled fuel tank design and to repair a station transporter needed for future construction.

A large chunk of foam insulation that fell off Columbia's fuel tank during its launch in January 2003 was responsible for the ship's demise during a landing attempt 16 days later. The debris struck and broke the heat shield on Columbia's wing, leaving a breach for superheated atmospheric gases to rip the shuttle apart as it flew over Texas on February 1, 2003. Seven astronauts aboard the shuttle died.

Nasa's initial fuel tank repair failed its first test flight during Discovery's July 2005 mission.

Discovery's successful 13-day mission earlier this month, however, cleared Nasa to begin a four-year, 16-flight sprint to finish building the space station before the shuttle fleet is retired in 2010.

"We need to shift from the return-to-flight mode back to a more operational assembly sequence, where we're flying, hopefully, four to five times a year and completing the assembly fairly quickly," Atlantis commander Brent Jett said in an interview.

Atlantis will be hauling a second set of massive solar arrays which are needed to boost the station's power output for partner laboratory modules. Europe's Columbus module is scheduled to arrive next year, followed by Japan's Kibo complex.

Managers expect to set a firm launch date for Atlantis following a flight review that concludes August 16. The shuttle's rollout to the launch pad is expected July 31.

- REUTERS